Review: COMPLEXIONS CONTEMPORARY BALLET at The Kennedy Center Opera House

The elite performers of Complexions Contemporary Ballet took to the Opera House stage from March 20th to the 22nd for their first full company engagement at the Kennedy Center. In the same month that the Black Lives Matter Pavillion was being demolished and the executive branch began asserting control over the Kennedy Center’s programming, Complexions’s presence in the capital was controversial. Yet, the show delivered a message of resilience and bravery that is important to uphold in times of unrest.

Dwight Rhoden is the company’s founder and chief choreographer, and he has created over 90 pieces in 30 years. Seven of these pieces were showcased during the production as an important exploration of the diverse human experience. 

In the world of contemporary dance, Complexions does it like no other. Their art is based on classical ballet, but their style has become so refined and flavored with diverse artists and art styles and become its own unique, powerful blend. Their commitment to diversity — from the dance influences to the dancers themselves — fosters an elevated creativity and limitless potential without sacrificing technical skill. 

As an addition to the DC performances, Complexions partnered with the Howard University dance program students for the opening piece, Black is Beautiful. It was created in 2021 as an ode to Black people’s resilience in oppression, and the piece certainly proved its name. The dancers were perfectly synched with the sonically complex electronic music and spoken word poetry. Their bodies bobbed and swooped as if dodging punches or dancing with joy, and they presented themselves fearlessly. The Howard dancers are well on their way to professional status, and it was an incredible experience for those aspiring dancers to add to their portfolio.

The Complexions company dancers then took their places to perform This Time, With Feeling for their first piece of the night. The dancers were enthralling in their purple, flowing garb and aptly emotional in their swooning movements. Four couples swept around the stage while soloist Manuel Vaccaro pranced around them like Cupid, seemingly pushing and pulling the pairs on and off the stage.

The couples were replaced by a trio in an excerpt of Deeply, yet the romantic air was elevated. Though the three dancers — Jillian Davis, Joe González, and Diego Tápanes — were so different in stature, they moved together with fluidity, clinging to each other and intertwining in ways that would not be replicable for any other combination of dancers. It was visceral and perfectly messy: They were pulling and embracing, giving and receiving equal attention. Davis dropped into the splits while propped in the other's arms, and Tápanes threw himself into an embrace with González that elicited a gasp from the audience. This was easily my favorite dance of the night, and my jaw didn’t leave the floor until it ended. 

A different trio piece, GONE, followed and switched the tone to one of grief and anguish. Set to “Another Man Done Gone” by Odetta, the piece was a masculine lament that had the dancers throwing and thumping their bodies with rhythmic spirituality.

Ave Maria brought back a warmth and softness, as dancers April Watson & Joe González showed off their rendition of a classic Complexions piece. Their duet was sensual and divine, and Watson’s legs were the star of this dance, paradoxically flexible and strong: She did each leg lift and split effortlessly and sustained the iconic bent-knee second position on pointe to enthusiastic applause. 

Right before the intermission, Mercy left the audience with a note of buzzing excitement. The company dressed in worship-white garb, and we were all part of their congregation as they put on a ritualistic, intense performance. The first and only props were carried on stage as the dancers used buckets to get literally and energetically elevated, and everything crescendoed until the curtains closed.

Returning to the stage, the lights came up on a sunset-hued stage for the main event For Crying Out Loud. Set to a medley of U2 acoustic pieces, Rhoden created a narrative out of the album’s tracklist that was a showcase of pure humanity. Though there were no visual effects, it was easy to imagine the scenes the dancers enacted to the soundtrack, like a meet-cute in a bustling cityscape in “Where The Streets Have No Name” or a grungy night club in “Vertigo.”  The full company paraded across the stage with ceaseless movement and energy that echoed the lyrics and tone, from lamenting “Every Breaking Wave” to triumphant “Pride (In The Name Of Love).” The message was ever present in the whole production: Though we all struggle to find our place, we all have love to give and receive, and that will carry us through anything. It is true artistry to pull from another medium and engage with it in a different form, and For Crying Out Loud was just pure, playful, empowering art. 

Unfortunately, the show only ran at the Kennedy Center for three nights, but the New York-based Complexions Contemporary Ballet can be kept up with at their new website below. 

Runtime: 2 hours, including 1 intermission.

To post a comment, you must register and login.